Pitcher&#39;s training device

ABSTRACT

A pitcher&#39;s training device is provided for training a softball or baseball pitcher in gripping and spinning a ball for special pitches, such as fastball, curve ball or screwball pitches. The pitcher&#39;s training apparatus includes a base which may be in the form of a folding tripod with a central column that can be raised and lowered to adjust for the person being trained. A training ball supporting arm is attached to and extends from the base and may be positioned for different pitchers. The supporting arm has an elongated slot passing through the side thereof. A pair of practice balls are connected by a shaft extending through the arm slot so that a pitcher can practice the gripping and spinning of the training ball forcing the ball shaft to spin and move in the slot.

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/658,643, filed Mar. 7, 2005.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a pitcher's training device and especially to a pitcher's training device used in baseball or softball and especially a training device for fast pitch softball. It is especially useful in teaching proper technique for pitching fastballs, curve balls, screwballs, and rise and drop pitches.

Proper throwing, especially when pitching, requires the person throwing the ball to impart a particular spin or rotation to the ball upon release of the ball from the pitching hand. The exception to this is the knuckle ball which is deliberately delivered in such a manner that the spin or rotation is minimized or non-existent. A fastball is thrown such that as the ball moves towards the plate, the top of the ball rotates towards the release hand of the pitcher and away from the plate. A curve ball is thrown so that the top of the ball rotates away for the release hand of the pitcher and towards the plate. Each pitch requires a particular arm angle and wrist motion to deliver the ball to the plate in the desired manner.

Various techniques exist for teaching proper throwing pitching techniques, such as that seen in the Barth U.S. Pat. No. 5,743,808 for a Baseball Throwing Trainer which has two baseballs connected together with a dowel screw. The student grips either ball in an appropriate manner for a pitch being thrown and flips or throws a ball while trying to impart rotation to the ball. The U.S. Pat. No. to Simpson 6,471,606 shows a device for creating ball spins which has a ball spinning device having a plurality of balls attached thereto. In the Romanick U.S. Pat. No. 5,830,091, a sports ball throwing training device audibly indicates proper throwing mechanics and has a sports ball attached to an elongated hollow tubular member with a closed end and having a freely movable inner dowel in the tubular member. The Kempf U.S. Pat. No. 5,472,187 teaches a Ball Pitch Training Device to facilitate a user learning to make a better pitching release and motion so that a ball, when pitched, will have a proper rotation to achieve maximum velocity and accuracy and is generally disc-shaped.

In contrast, the present invention is specifically directed towards an aid for training a student's speciality pitches in fast pitch softball in which the pitcher grips and spins a softball tandem with proper followthrough to generate spin and translation of the connected ball. The student receives feedback on his technique by the motion of the tandemly connected balls moving within an elongated slot.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A pitcher's training device is provided for training a softball or baseball pitcher in gripping and spinning a ball for special pitches, such as fastball, curve ball or screwball pitches. The pitcher's training apparatus includes a base which may be in the form of a folding tripod with a central column that can be raised and lowered to adjust for the person being trained. A training ball supporting arm is attached to and extends from the base and may be positioned for different pitchers. The supporting arm has an elongated slot passing through the side thereof. A practice ball has a shaft extending therefrom which shaft is rotatably and moveably attached through the supporting arm slot so that a pitcher can practice the gripping and spinning of the training ball forcing the ball shaft to spin and move in the slot. A pair of balls may be attached to the shaft which extends through the training ball supporting arm slot and the supporting arm may be rotated to different positions. The training ball supporting arm may also be a straight supporting arm or a curved one in which the slot extends through the curved portion. The pitcher's training apparatus allows a pitcher to adjust the position of the training ball supporting arm having the practice ball and shaft attached through the slot therein. Spinning the ball in a manner for pitching a fastball, curve ball, screwball or the like then moves the practice ball and attached shaft rotating in the supporting arm slot to move across the slot.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Other objects, features, and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the written description and the drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a pitcher's training device in accordance with the present invention set up for training the wrist to throw a curve ball or a screwball;

FIG. 2 is the pitcher's training device in accordance with the present invention set up for training the wrist to throw a rise or drop pitch; and

FIG. 3 is the pitcher's training device set up for a turn-over pitch.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Referring to the drawings and especially to FIG. 1, a pitcher's training device 10 is illustrated having a conventional tripod base 11 having three legs 12 attached to a base 13. The legs 12 can be hingedly connected to the base 13 or may be fixed legs, as illustrated, and may be telescoping legs. The base member 13 has a collar 14 having a vertically extending column 15 sliding therein having a plurality of apertures 16 positioned so that a locking pin may be inserted through an aperture 17 in the collar 14 and through any one of the plurality of apertures 16 through the column 15 for adjusting the height of the column for any particular pitcher. The top of the column 15 has an L-shaped coupling 18 which is attached to the column 15 with a threaded fastener 20. The L-connector 18 has a curved arm 21 attached thereto with a threaded locking fastener 22 and has a arcuate slot 23 therein extending around the curved portion of the arm 21. A pair of spherical balls 24 and 25, which may be standard softballs but can also be any ball design desired including a baseball, are connected together with a dowel 26 which extends through the slot 23 in the arm 21 with the balls 24 and 25 being attached to the dowel on opposite sides of the slot 23.

This particular embodiment of the present pitcher's training device is for training a pitcher's wrists for throwing a curve ball or screwball pitch and trains the pitcher's wrist motion for making a softball pitch. The student thus grabs either the ball 24 or 25, depending on whether the pitcher is a left handed or right handed pitcher, with the appropriate grip for the particular ball game and imparts a spin into the ball of the type required for a curve ball or a screwball. Once the ball 24, 25 is rotated in this manner, rotating the dowel 26, the pair of balls 24,25 will, following the spin, extend through the slot to follow the slot 23 in the arm 21 when the appropriate spin is imparted to one of the balls. Continuous rote practice while spinning a ball in this nature teaches the pitcher the proper wrist motion in throwing the softball for producing a curve ball.

Turning to FIG. 2, the tripod 11 having the legs 12 and the base 13 with collar 14 having the aperture 17 therein, has the column 15 passing therethrough. Column 15 has apertures 16 therein and has the L-connector 18 attached to the column 16 with the threaded fastener 20. Arm 30 is attached to the L-connector 18 by the tightening of the fastener 22 and has a slot 31 therein which is an arcuate slot following the arcuate arm 30 but extending in a downward direction relative to the column 15. The balls 24 and 25 are mounted in the arcuate slot 31 with the connecting dowel 26 passing through the slot 31. In this case, the arm 30 with the arcuate slot 31 is positioned for training a student's wrist for a proper spin for a rise or drop ball pitch. Putting the proper spin on either the ball 24 or 25 will result in it following the arcuate slot 31 and continuous spinning of the ball 24, 25 in this manner, will train the student's wrist for producing a better pitch in a rise or drop ball. It will be understood that the arcuate arm 30 can be rotated upside down and locked with the nut 22 as desired.

Turning to FIG. 3, the tripod 11 has the three legs 12 connected to the base 13 and having the collar 14 having an aperture 17 therethrough. The column 15 slides through the collar 14 and has apertures 16 for adjusting the height of the column 15. The L-shaped connector 18 is attached to the column with the fastener 20 and has the training arm 35 attached thereto with the fastener 22. The arm 35 has an elongated slot 36 therein which, unlike the arms in FIGS. 1 and 2, is not arcuate. The balls 24 and 25 are connected with the dowel 26 which rides in the slot 36. In this embodiment, the student grips either ball 24 or 25 to practice wrist motion for producing a spin for a turnover or fastball with the ball rotating in a directly forwarding rotation. When the ball's spin is properly imparted to the practice device in FIG. 3, the balls 24 and 25 on the dowel 26 will ride along the elongated slot 36 to provide the student with feedback to his wrist motion.

It will be clear at this time that an aide for training a pitcher's wrist, especially for use in fast pitch softball, has been provided in which interchangeable arms can be utilized for training the wrist of a pitcher in different pitches. However, it will also be clear that two or all three of the training arms can be mounted together on one tripod base so that all three can be practiced from different positions around the tripod. In addition, it will be clear that the tripod base is only one means for supporting the upright column and training arms so that any other support can be utilized without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. It is however desirable to have a vertical column which can be adjusted for the height of different pitchers using the practice device. Accordingly, the present invention is not to be construed as limited to the forms shown which are to be considered illustrative rather than restrictive. 

1. A pitcher's training apparatus for training a pitcher on gripping and spinning a ball for special pitches comprising: a base; a training ball supporting arm attached to and extending from said base and positional on said base for a pitcher, said supporting arm having an elongated slot therein; a practice ball having a shaft attached thereto and extending therefrom, said shaft being rotatably attached in said supporting arm slot; whereby a pitcher can practice gripping and spinning the training ball forcing the spinning ball shaft to move in said slot.
 2. The pitcher's training apparatus of claim 1 in which said ball supporting arm is adjustable on said base to position said training ball for a pitcher using said pitcher's training apparatus.
 3. The pitcher's training apparatus of claim 2 in which said ball supporting arm is generally vertically adjustable to vary the height of said training ball.
 4. The pitcher's training apparatus of claim 1 having two training balls, each training ball being attached to said shaft, and each training ball being mounted on an opposite side of said ball supporting arm from the other training ball so that spinning one training ball spins both said training balls.
 5. The pitcher's training apparatus of claim 1 in which said ball supporting arm and the slot therein has a generally arcuate shaped portion.
 6. The pitcher's training apparatus of claim 1 in which said ball supporting arm and the slot therein form a generally linear portion.
 7. The pitcher's training apparatus of claim 5 in which said ball supporting arm is rotatably adjustable relative to said base.
 8. The pitcher's training apparatus of claim 1 in which said base is a foldable tripod having a sliding column supporting said ball supporting arm.
 9. The pitcher's training apparatus of claim 8 in which said ball supporting arm is attached to one end of said tripod sliding column.
 10. The pitcher's training apparatus of claim 9 in which said ball supporting arm is rotatably attached to said tripod column for repositioning said ball supporting arm and ball attached thereto.
 11. The pitcher's training apparatus of claim 4 in which each said training ball is a softball.
 12. The pitcher's training apparatus of claim 5 in which said slot in said arcuate ball supporting arm extends through the arcuate portion of said ball supporting arm so as to move said rotating training ball shaft in an upwardly curve on said arm.
 13. The pitcher's training apparatus of claim 5 in which said slot in said arcuate ball supporting arm extends through the arcuate portion of said supporting arm so as to move said rotating training ball shaft along a flat curved path.
 14. The pitcher's training apparatus of claim 1 in which said ball supporting arm is removably attached to said base whereby said ball supporting arm can be exchanged with another ball supporting arm of a different shape. 